Abstract: The temperature－vegetation dryness index(TVDI) derived from satellite data have been used to monitor drought widely．Sichuan province features complicate topography and larger horizontal gradient of temperature due to its dependence on terrain height．How well the TVDI capture the drought in Sichuan needs further study．Surface temperature，enhanced vegetation index，TVDI，and observed soil moisture in Sichuan Basin have been analyzed in this study．It is found that spatial pattern of TVDI is mostly determined by that of surface temperature．The TVDI captures not only regional drought but also areal drought．How to indentify magnitude of drought based on TVDI needs further study，because there is not significant correlation between TVDI and observed soil moisture at the points with auto observation．